Game Quotes: Cavaliers at Wizards

On the game tonight:
“68 points by their frontline, 30 rebounds by their frontline, 19 offensive rebounds by their frontline, 62 points in the paint... you can’t win if you don’t come with a little bit more of a toughness and a presence in that paint area. You can’t win. Blatche and McGee dominated our guys. That’s something you just can’t account for. When we have to all of a sudden change a game plan to double team those two guys, you’re in trouble.”

On having a guy out:
“We needed a guy like Samardo because he is one guy that we have that we feel is a physical guy that plays like that. They just took it to us. I told the guys before the game, it really comes down tonight to who wants it more and I felt that they wanted it a lot more than we did.”

On their performance tonight:
“We just didn’t come out with the energy that we really needed. This is a team that had a couple of guys out, obviously, Blatche hadn’t played for a month, so from that standpoint it was disappointing. We should have played a whole lot better than that.”

On Wizards’ rebounding effort:
“I’ve never been a part of a game like that but I’ll be the first to say that a lot of the reason they got rebounds was my fault. I was just watching the ball and not going to box out. I thought we fought hard. They just beat us on the boards tonight.”

On Blatche’s length creating issues on glass:
“That’s not an excuse. I’ve been playing against bigger guys for the past two years in the five position. That’s no excuse whatsoever. It’s solely on me and not boxing out. I’ll be the first to admit I’m the reason why we lost tonight.”

On bouncing back after admitting mistake:
“The truth is the truth. It’s how I was raised. It is what it is. That’s why it’s the NBA, you have to get ready for New York. Like I said, it probably won’t happen again.”

On the game:
“Their record might not show it but they definitely have talent on that team. When you meet a team that is getting that many more shots than you, you have to start trading shots back and forth and they definitely made it tough for us. They put pressure on us and played well tonight.”

On his play:
“I’m getting more comfortable with what my set minutes are going to be. My issues with the hernia are going away and I’m just trying to attack the basket and be aggressive. They were definitely down guys tonight, but they had a few key guys that stepped up. Crawford had a triple double, Blatche and McGee both played really well. It was a win we thought we could get but they wanted it a little more than we did. They got a lot more shots up and came out a lot stronger in the second half. They capitalized on that energy and it was tough for us to come back from that.”

On McGee and Crawford:
“Having played with JaVale before, I remember when he stepped out on campus with young, raw talent, and I knew he had the potential to be a lead center in the league. He has really been growing throughout the seasons and a guy with his size you really can’t ask for more than he is doing. With Crawford, I really didn’t know too much about him coming into the season, but he is really stepping up with John having to be out and I think he is doing a great job. He is a different type of guard.”

HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

On his team’s energy tonight:
“O’s (Othyus) energy and Andray’s energy on the offensive glass, that was huge as far as how hard we played. We had great individual performances. Andray was great tonight -- 36 points, 19 rebounds, 16 offensive rebounds, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. That’s a lot of offensive rebounds.”

On Jordan Crawford:
“The most phenomenal thing about Jordan is that he has the ability to have an average first half and then he comes out and he’s lights out in the second half. I’m talking about making big plays tonight and not just scoring, he had some phenomenal passes to JaVale at the rim.”

On Othyus Jeffers:
“You got a guy in O who was playing in the NBDL two weeks ago and now he’s starting and playing 30 minutes and being very productive. He is not playing like there is someone behind him. He’s playing like he’s chasing someone and he looks hungry.”

MAURICE EVANS

On the game:
“You have to take your hat off to ‘Dray (Andray Blatche) and the way he played. He opened up the game and kept us in it. Jordan (Crawford) kept fighting, even when he was struggling early he just kept fighting. He got the ball to the right people at the right times. As a team everyone is growing and gaining so much confidence. That’s what you want at the end of the year -- a team that’s going to get stronger.”

ANDRAY BLATCHE

On getting a franchise record 16 offensive rebounds:
“I just went out there and tried to be aggressive and hit the boards and tried to get this win.”

On being back:
“It feels good to be back and I’m having fun again. When I was out I realized you can’t take anything for granted, so I came back with a lot of energy and I’m just happy to be playing again.”

On if he felt like he needed to lead the team tonight:
“Not really. I feel like we have a great group of young guys, we all have a certain role we need to pitch in and play. The guys are doing a great job at what they’re supposed to do.”

On Jordan Crawford:
“I just want to take my hat off to (Jordan) Crawford. He once again stepped up for us and led us to a win.”

On the pass between Jordan Crawford’s legs:
“I knew it was going to come, but I didn’t know how it was going to get there. It was very impressive, his confidence is high and he’s playing great basketball. I’ve always thought he was a great player.”

JORDAN CRAWFORD

On the second half of the game:
“We were down by five or four and then we got a couple of fast breaks and then we just kept going from there.”

On his triple-double:
“I just wanted to make sure that we played team basketball. I didn’t feel like I had to do that much. I just wanted to get the team involved and pick my spots.”